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Re: Piece-by-piece lens

Interesting. And here I thought that, with the minor exception of press shutters' diaphragms' locations, modern (post-WWII) #0, and #1 Compur, Prontor, and Copal shutters' dimensions were standardized. Pre-WWII shutters are another matter, as are Rochester-made shutters (Supermatic, Rapax/Grafex, Alphax, Ilex).

But post-WWII lens cells that were delivered in a Compur #0 or #1 should be a direct fit into, respectively, a Copal #0 or #1.

Lens cells delivered in barrel are also another thing entirely. For example, I have a couple of tiny 150/9 Klimsch Apo Ronars in barrel whose cells aren't direct fits into shutter, also a small heap of pre-CEDIS Boyer lenses in barrel whose cells ought to be direct fits in #1s but, again, fit no known shutter.

I've had only one spacing issue; it seems that #00 Ilex Electronic shutters are threaded like #00 Synchro Compurs but are thinner. When I presented the problem to the late Steve Grimes he said "Oh. The shoulder problem." and machined out the Syncro-Compur so the cells would seat at the proper distance. #00s are somewhat a law unto themselves.

Re: Piece-by-piece lens

Hey Dan I'm no lens guru like many here but I had always thought that, as you state, #0 and #1 Compurs are of the same thickness as Copal #0 and #1. Nice that you reinforce my belief. But this brings up another question that might also have some bearing on the OPs' task. Some lenses have shims to adjust the spacing between the front and rear elements. I assume that this is done at the factory to meet performance specs. But I worry that when buying a used lens how do I know if the original factory spacer is present or was ever intended to be there? What's your take on this?

Re: Piece-by-piece lens

Originally Posted by Nathan Potter

Hey Dan I'm no lens guru like many here but I had always thought that, as you state, #0 and #1 Compurs are of the same thickness as Copal #0 and #1. Nice that you reinforce my belief. But this brings up another question that might also have some bearing on the OPs' task. Some lenses have shims to adjust the spacing between the front and rear elements. I assume that this is done at the factory to meet performance specs. But I worry that when buying a used lens how do I know if the original factory spacer is present or was ever intended to be there? What's your take on this?

Nate Potter, Harrington Me.

Nate, my take is that we all of us worry about problems we can't detect or correct. We're all a bit nuts, and "we" includes me.